Are You "The N-Word"? Because You've Been Running Through This Girl's Mind All Day
It feels like it's a little early in the morning to be posting this video about a girl who's Tourette's Syndrome causes her to shout out "the n-word" all the time, but then again WHEN WOULD BE A GOOD TIME?
Hmmm. I have no doubt that this is a miserable and embarrassing affliction for this girl that causes her and her entire family plenty of suffering. But I'm not sure that I buy the argument that it's just a lack of filter. Like, yes, we all have things running through our head all day long and we are lucky that we don't uncontrollably shout them out in the department store. But we don't have THE SAME, INCREDIBLY OFFENSIVE thing running through our head all day. It's not nature vs. nurture, you guys. It's nature AND nurture.
Posted by Gabe at 9:15 AM in Documentaries
Tags: Racism | Tourette's Syndrome
Its definitely an interesting thought. I definitely believe she doesn't MEAN to shout it, but I'm convinced (and this is my amateur diagnosis) that it simply causes you to shout what you're thinking. So if she didn't have at least some bias, she wouldn't be shouting it. That said, i still have a tremendous amount of sympathy for both her and her mum.
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Not exactly true. Try NOT to think of an elephant. I bet you thought of one.
It's probably the same thing when this girl sees a black person -- she probably gets anxious, knows that she has a condition that forces her to say embarassing stuff, and thinks inadvertantly of exactly what she's not supposed to be thinking about.
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If I'm going to be watching something without a filter, I'd much rather watch that dude on the pickup artist.
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truth, gabe.
if she didn't think to herself "nigger" every time she saw a black person, she wouldn't have anything to shout.
(i can see how once she shouted it once, she gets scared of shouting it again, and then it IS the only thing running through her head - the dread of saying it again - but still. i can't say that that word pops in to my head EVER times a day, much less multiple times a day.)
plus, she's not shouting *everything* she thinks when she sees people, like "pretty hair!" or "worst teeth!" or something.
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coprolalia is the term for the tic that makes you shout out words, and it doesnt necessarily mean that the person shouting them is racist or lewd. from everything that ive read it's not simply a lack of filter and im surprised the girl's mother describes it that way. the way i understand it is it's like a word association thing, almost like a stroke victim will substitute related words for the intended word. certain triggers bring on certain tics. maybe the brain picks out the most unconscious thought, but simply because you know the situation in which a certain word or phrase would be used doesnt mean that you intend to use it or even would want to use it.
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I agree with this.
I think but of course could be wrong, that when you find out words that you shouldn't use, those are the ones that come to mind & come out when you have tourettes. It's not that she racist though. Did that make any sense?
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If you watch the rest of the videos for the "Tourettes Teen Camp" thing on YouTube one of the other Tourettes girls calls this chick out for faking her Tourettes at some moments so she can get away with saying whatever she wants.
The rest of the videos are kind of funny because they travel to the US and they say "the worst thing you could say in America" which wasn't the n-word or whatever but "twin towers." Yeah British people, that is the worst phrase EVER to say.
I did feel bad for one of the dudes who got scared when they all started to tic saying the n-word in public and then he couldnt stop saying it.
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My aunt was actually the first woman in our state to be diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, and has become a spokeswoman of sorts for the condition.
I'm not going to get all preachy and political, but when I come to a comedy blog (nay, my FAVORITE comedy blog) I don't like to see the conditions that have plauged my family being joked at. No, my aunt does not have that same verbal tick (she has verbal ticks, but it's more of a squeal).
Okay, I'm done being lame because I hate when people comment like this on blogs.
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Although I have all kinds of sympathy for you and your family, you can't really complain about this video being posted. If Videogum had to hold back on videos that might be offensive to some people, it wouldn't even exist anymore.
Also, Tourette's Syndrome isn't explicitly being "joked at" like you said, it's just this girl's particular tic that's being questioned.
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i'm in your corner, caroline. yeah, we all know this is hilariousgum.com but there's usually a higher standard of humor here. and i'm no doctor, but i've always heard tourette's referenced as the uncontrollable saying of offensive things. i mean, she said sex and fuck during the interview - i don't think that had anything to do with what she was legitimately feeling at the time. you kinda dropped the ball on this one, gabe. i call for a recount.
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what happens if she just learns a new language lets say italian and just moves to italy does the "tic" translate to the newly learned language? just a thought....
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Gabe, you're entirely wrong and thus the worst person ever. You clearly have no sympathy for this poor girl. I'm sick of you forever. Bring back Lindsay.
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You're so mean!
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I don't think you can make the conclusion that she is thinking this just because she is shouting it out. In fact, unless you know that that is what she was shouting out from the start, I don't think you can make that conclusion. In fact, it may just be the opposite. She may be so embarrassed by the situation that in her mind she keeps thinking about the things she shouldn't be saying and that is what comes out. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Just because those thoughts are in her head doesn't mean they are in her head in a negative connotation. Words are just words without context...
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the girl speaks like she knows when she actualy say things, like "nigga", but I thought tourette was unconscious.....hmmmmm...
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Looks like its time for a good ol' fashioned exorcism.
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haven't you ever been in a situation where your mind wanders to the absolute worst scenario that could possibly come about? imagine that happening and then not being able to control yourself from verbalizing that thought.
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My cousin and I touched wiiiieners
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Even if she was the most racist girl in England, I still doubt she would intentionally say the N word out loud. Her shouting of the the N word is obviously caused by her tourettes. end of story. I don't really see her unintentional use of the N word as a real form of racism. Plus her words are pretty harmless in comparison to other forms of racism and discrimination that exist in this world, so we should should just chill out.
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i'm sure she is inclined to say the things she most doesn't want coming out. 'nigger' is probably on her mind because it is the worst thing she can think of saying when a black person is around, and since it is on her mind, consciously or not, that's what pops out.
have to say were i'd her i would be wearing a muzzle in public.
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i like how that ended with a song from the eternal sunshine soundtrack. weird.
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Kind of not really helping the debate much here, but I knew a guy who had Tourette's and I noticed that whenever he had a verbal tic (not very often, he mostly had facial tics) his voice sounded really odd. Her's does too, it almost sounds like she has a really sore throat. I wonder why that is?
Also, when she shouted "sex" while they were just sitting there I loled. You can't deny it, Tourette's is both sad and hilarious.
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Sure, it's so damn funny I forgot to laugh. Funnier than cancer or AIDS, since it's not actually fatal and doesn't end with one of those nasty ugly death scenes. Not quite as funny as depression or schizophrenia, though - there's nothing like a little self-mutilation to keep me in stitches for hours.
Do we have permission to laugh at your most humiliating personal problems, icanread? Or is that privilege reserved for you and you alone?
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is it wrong that i'm Black and I couldn't stop laughing because it sounds like she was saying the N-WORD though a larynx-box and/or time warp????
who can be mad at THAT? that shyt's hilarious!!!
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Okay, Becca, in all fairness, are you going to tell us your own personal problems? This girl had the courage to agree to go on a television show, knowing she was exposing herself to this kind of ridicule. So come on, tell us what you struggle with. We could all use a good laugh.
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Totally not racism in any significant sense of the concept. The whole point of a moral condemnation is that the one being condemned had a choice.
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As a black man, I think my people deserve to be called the 'N' Word. When they start getting educated and start behaing themselves, then they need to stop being called that word. I'm black and I am ashamed to say it, but I really feel that word fits my people.
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I agree to an degree, as a young mixed (half Black half irish) woman, I think the black culture is holding itself back with intolerance and ignorance towards its own kind. Black people complain about other black people not working hard or getting good jobs, but as soon as they do they've "sold out" and yadda yadda. If they educate themselves adn talk normally they're "white washed". its Disgusting the cycle they perpetuate.
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